Our Summer Of
by PkmnLegacy
Summary: The whole gang gets together a few years after the war, renting a large house near the beach for the summer. The idea is to simply relax and have fun, but a lot can happen in 49 days... Features: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, Ty Lee, Mai.
1. Day 1: Prologue

**Author's Note:** Apart from this first chapter (the prologue), each chapter will be from the point of view of one of the characters. There will not be chapters for all days, but some days may have more than one chapter. Hope you'll enjoy reading this story!

* * *

**Day 1, Friday: Arrival**

* * *

"Wow Zuko, this house is really nice."

Zuko turned to his friend, smiling. "Just a perk of being the new Fire Lord, Aang."

"Is the water warm?" Katara asked, looking down at the ocean below. "That beach looks amazing!"

"It belongs to the house. Speaking of... Our belongings have been placed in our rooms. Toph, you're sharing a bottom floor room with Katara. Figured you'd want to be close to the ground."

"Sweetness."

"Ty Lee and Suki, you're with me," Mai added. "Our room is just next to theirs. The men will be upstairs."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

The rooms turned out to be large, with plenty of space to move between the thick, comfortable beds. The decor was a stylish mix between the more militant Fire Nation style and the homely colors of the Earth Nation. Zuko had even made sure that the room Katara and Toph shared had stone tiles as flooring, so the earthbender would be able to see properly.

"Man, I can't believe we're gonna be here for _seven weeks_!" Sokka sighed, flopping down on one of the beds. It yielded easily to his weight, and he sank down several centimeters into the mattress.

"As long as nothing happens," Zuko replied, opening his bag. "Fire Lord duties are rather... time consuming."

"Well, let's hope the Fire Nation can do without you for one summer, _oh great Fire Lord_," Sokka said, grinning wide. Zuko ignored the jab and simply shrugged.

"Yeah... at least I have advisors taking care of things back home."

"Don't worry too much," Aang told him, smiling. "Even _if_ something happens, you've got me and Appa to take you back quickly."

"I guess. Just haven't been able to relax lately."

"Well, you've got enough time for it now. _Seven weeks_, guys!"

"Yes Sokka, we know," Zuko replied, looking amused. "I signed the contract for the house myself."

"By the way, how big is this house?"

"Well, there are three bedrooms, four bathrooms... Kitchen, dining room, living room, library, corridors, storage areas... Pretty large, actually. I think it has a small basement and an attic, as well."

"Sounds like it's time for some exploration then!" Sokka said, bouncing up from his bed. "You guys coming?"

"Sorry, I've got to check on some things."

"Aang?"

"I was gonna go see how Toph and Katara are doing in their room."

"Fiiine, I'll explore alone! Maybe I can find Momo and get him to help me."

Zuko and Aang watched as Sokka exited the room, then looked at eachother.

"See _how they're doing_?" Zuko asked, his voice incredulous.

"Um, yeah," Aang said, looking away. "I don't really have as much time to spend with Katara nowadays, so..."

"I know what you mean. Me and Mai... Let's just say we've both got a lot of duties to attend to, and far too little time to do it in. Well, I'd better get going. As I said, got some things to check. Food supply and such."

"See ya."

* * *

"Toph!" Katara shrieked, bouncing back against the wall. Toph blinked innocently, turning in her general direction.

"Yes, Katara?"

"Please _warn me_ before you earthbend... _Especially _when you do it _indoors_!"

Toph grinned, turning away again. She would never admit it, of course, but she had been missing Katara for the months since they last saw each other. Just like she had been missing the rest of them.

"Hey, Katara?" she said, keeping her voice fairly low.

"Yea-AAH!" Katara replied, crashing to the floor as a small stone pillar erupted from the ground just next to her. Toph spun around, grinning madly.

"Just wanted to warn you... Earthbending."

"You... You..."

Any response Katara might have had died on her tongue as there was a knock on the door. She shot Toph a dirty look, got to her feet and opened. Aang stood outside, looking curious.

"Hey there," he said, giving a small wave. "What's goin' on?"

"You're saving me," Katara replied, grabbing his wrist and pulling him off, down the corridor. Toph heard her say something about a stroll in the garden. Yawning, she stretched her arms and legs, then moved the small pillar closer to her newly bended rock bed.

"Well Toph," she sighed happily to herself. "Nap time."

* * *

They did not gather again until it was time for dinner. Zuko and Mai had been making sure there was enough food and such until they could go shopping next, while the rest of the group had either explored or relaxed for most of the day.

"So," Zuko said when they had eaten dinner, "I figured we'd simply relax this weekend and do some planning Monday... They usually hold a few summer events in this area, so we might want to visit some of them."

"Sounds good," Suki said, and the rest of them murmured agreement.

"We should go swimming tomorrow!" Ty Lee exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "The water seemed warm!"

"Actually, I had planned for us to do some warrior training tomorrow," Suki said. They all stared at her, looking surprised. Sokka put a hand on her shoulder.

"Suki... _Vacation_."

"Oh, alright," Suki sighed. "But we _have_ to do at least _some _training, so we keep in shape for when we go back to Kyoshi after summer... Okay, Ty Lee?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright, so beach tomorrow, _something_ Sunday and planning meeting on Monday," Sokka said, writing it all down as he spoke. Toph, sitting next to him, raised an eyebrow.

"You're making a _schedule_ for relaxing?"

"Well _someone_ has to!"

"We're all very grateful for your... Valueable services, Sokka," Zuko interjected, giving an amused snort. "Maybe I should hire you to schedule my fire lord duties for me."

"No, don't! You'd never get anything done, 'cause of all the planning meetings," Toph quipped, and the room erupted into laughter.

"Hey, keeping order is important!" Sokka said, sounding mildly offended.

"Actually, I_ was_ going to ask you to help with something," Zuko told him. "We need to make a schedule for who goes shopping, and when, so I wanted you to come up with some way of making it fair for everyone... And to have it done by Monday, for the meeting."

"Uh, sure."

"Well, time to turn in," Mai said, getting up. "It's getting late, and we should be up early tomorrow."


	2. Day 2: Toph

**Day 2, Saturday  
**

**Toph**

By the time she woke up, most of the others had already gone down to the beach. Yawning, Toph silently cursed the 'early' morning, while being grateful for Katara not having tried to wake her up even earlier.

_What's the point in swimming anyways?_ she thought to herself. _S'not like it's fun to splash around, half blind... Having to dry off, risking a cold..._With a sigh, she finished up and exited, heading for the beach.

* * *

She could hear people yelling and laughing as she reached the edge of the lake, but the water muddled her senses, so she could not feel _who _it was. She did, however, recognize the voices. Ty Lee, giggling and squeeling in delight. Suki and Katara, trying to organize some kind of game, though having apparent problems doing so.

The boys, however, she could _not _hear. Frowning, she focused harder, listening intently. She figured they were perhaps simply further out into the water, too far out for their voices to reach her. However...

"Hey Toph!"

The yell, accompanied by a dull thud close to her, took her completely by surprise. By pure instinct, she lashed out, forgetting for the moment that she was on a beach. Sokka yelped as he was showered in sand, dirty but unharmed.

"_What are you doing_?" Toph gasped loudly, her voice sharp and angry. She was furious and embarrassed at the way her watertribe friend had managed to sneak up on her, not to mention at her own reaction.

"S-sorry," Sokka replied, putting his hands up. "Just wanted to play a prank on ya."

"How... How did you even manage to..."

"Aang flew me in, then I dropped down next to you. Sorry."

Toph gave an amused snort, her mood improving quickly. If Sokka had actually _sneaked up on her_, there would have been a reason to worry. "So it takes two of you to surprise a poor, blind girl," she said, grinning wide. Sokka laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, you're not joining us in the water?"

"I don't swim."

"You could just stand where it's shallow?"

"Sokka," Toph sighed, trying to be patient. "I see _with my feet_, through rocks and sand. You know what waves tend to do? _Move the sand around_."

"Ah, right. It'd be like me watching everything through wavy glass, I guess."

"I'll have to take your word on that."

Sokka stood there for a few more moments, watching her with a frown. With a sigh, she made some shooing motions.

"Go, have fun. I'll be fine alone, promise."

"Yeah, alright."

She felt his footsteps grow fainter as he jogged back to the water, then heard yelling and laughing as someone – Katara or Aang, obviously – hit him with a large wave just as he reached the water. Smiling, she listened to his shouting as he tried to regain his footing and save face. _Serves him right_, she thought to herself. _Sneaking up on people, and even _cheating_ while doing it. _

She had told Sokka the truth when she said she hated water. Especially the way the sand felt below her feet, constantly shifting, scrambling her senses. She was Toph, the greatest earthbender ever, but at times like these... She just wished she had working eyes, instead.

_Stop being so self pitying_, she thought, launching a ball of sand at Sokka, who had just regained his balance. It hit perfectly, knocking him back into the water. Hearing the others cheer and laugh, she raised her hand in a mock salute, grinning wide. Sure, there were times when she would have preferred vision over earthbending, but...

"Hey, Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen!" she yelled, flying to her feet. "Just _try_ to defeat me!"

Raising several sand dummies around her, she started rushing towards the shore, moving them along with her. Katara splashed one, so she raised two more, while another hit Aang straight on, knocking him into the water next to Sokka.

_I'm blind, _she thought_. Not always able to do everything. Not always able to know exactly what's going on around me. However, that's fine. I'm okay with that, because... Without earthbending, without my blindness, I would've never met the Avatar. Never met Sokka, Katara, Ty Lee, Zuko, Mai, Suki... and so many others._

She heard Katara yelling orders to the others, organizing a defense. _Game on!_


	3. Day 4: Sokka

**Day 4, Monday  
**

**Sokka**

"My head is _still_ sore from the game two days ago!" Sokka complained, slumping into one of the chairs Zuko had placed for their planning meeting. Katara caught Suki's eyes, then gave a snort of laughter.

"What?" Sokka insisted. "It really hurt, you know!"

"Then _why_ did you try to _headbutt_ one of my sand dummies, meathead? That was a stupid move, even from you," Toph asked from across the table, raising an eyebrow. Sokka had to admit, she _did_ have a point there.

"Yeah, and pretending to be knocked out after, to trick Suki into giving you mouth-to-mouth?" Katara added, her tone slightly mocking. "What was _that_ all about? You don't get enough kissy-kissy action as it is?"

"I thought it'd be funny!"

Katara opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted as Zuko entered the room. Clearing his throat, he started speaking: "Hello, everyone. Let's get this meeting over with, shall we? Sokka, did you do as I asked?"

"Yeah, I've got it right here," Sokka replied, holding up an urn. "I figured the fairest way would be to write down everyone's name, then draw them out of this."

"Very good, we'll end the meeting with that. First, there's some fireworks Friday, an annual event that is supposed to be... Breathtaking."

"Loud and boring, more like it," Toph sighed. Zuko gave her a sympathetic look, then cleared his throat and kept talking.

"I figured we'd have a barbeque before the event, then go watch it. Those who draw the shopping duties for this week'll have to go Thursday instead, so we have everything ready. What do you say?"

"As long as we have some vegetarian dishes, count me in!" Aang replied enthustiastically.

"And as long as we have _meat_, I'm in as well!" Sokka added, grinning. Suki and Katara just smiled and rolled their eyes.

"Then it's decided," Zuko said. "Anyone else have something they want to talk about?" When he was met with a chorus of 'no', he nodded and stepped aside, letting Sokka take the scene.

"Alright, so I've already written down everyone's names. All that remains is to draw them from this urn, write down the results and... Well, yeah, that's actually all there is. Anyone wants to do the draw, or should I?"

"Just do it, so we can get out of here," Mai suggested. The others nodded their agreement, so Sokka dropped the name tiles into the urn, shook it and drew the first two.

"Okay, the pair going shopping Thursday is... Suki and Ty Lee! Second pair..."

* * *

In the end, he had drawn pairs of names for all thirteen shopping trips. Katara turned out to be the winner, with only two trips, while Aang, Toph and Ty Lee had four each and the rest of them three. _Damn Katara, getting off so easy_, he thought, before reminding himself of how she had always taken care of him. Feeling slightly guilty about his thoughts, he quickly wrote the results down on a schedule and put it on the kitchen wall.

Since the meeting had ended, most of the others had left the house to practice, exercise or simply relax outdoors. He grabbed a snack from the pantry, then climbed the stairs to the second floor. He had found a perfect place for some afternoon napping while he had been exploring on the day of their arrival, but now someone else was sitting in the armchair. _Suki._

"Hey," his girlfriend said, smiling up at him. Returning the smile, he bent down and gave her a light kiss.

"Hey yourself. You're not outside practicing with Ty Lee?"

"Obviously not," she replied, softening her words with a grin. "I was waiting for you, actually. I figured we haven't really been hanging out in... Forever."

"Yeah, we haven't," Sokka replied, seating himself next to her in the wide armchair. _Have we really been that busy?_ he asked himself. It seemed impossible that he had not even been able to take some time to be with those he loved, but thinking about it... It was ages since he had been hanging out with Suki, Aang, Toph, or even Katara. Present vacation excepted, of course.

"Alright," he said, pulling her closer. "Let's stay here for the afternoon, do some catching up."

She replied with a grin. "You got it."


	4. Day 7: Katara

**Day 7, Thursday**

**Katara**

It was already early afternoon by the time Suki and Ty Lee had left for the store. Katara knew that Zuko was in the house study, fire lord duties keeping him occupied for the coming couple of hours. Mai was probably in there with him, keeping him company. What she could _not_ figure out was where Aang, Sokka and Toph had disappeared to.

Muttering to herself, she walked through the corridors of the rather large building. There was no sounds, except the creaking of the wooden floor, so she decided they were probably outside. Toph would not want to be on the upper floor anyways, since she would be basically blind. _Or she would, so she could hang on Sokka's arm..._

Katara came to a complete stop, eyebrows raised. Of course she had noticed the young earthbender's feelings toward her brother, although she knew Toph would never admit to it if she asked... But did she really believe Toph would hang out in a place she was blind, just to be near him?

Her pondering was interrupted after just a few seconds, by a loud _bang _in the garden. She walked to the nearest window and, looking out, saw her boyfriend, brother and friend. Toph was sitting on a rock, basking in the sunlight, while Sokka and Aang were playing some kind of game.

She exited the house and approached the trio, trying to figure out the rules of the game. First Aang would pull medium-sized rocks from the ground, using earthbending. After that, he sent them flying toward Sokka... No, towards a hoop _behind_ Sokka. Her brother, on the other hand, used his boomerang to try and stop the rocks.

"Sokka, haven't you learned _anything_?" she called out, wincing as he nearly got hit by one of the thrown rocks.

"He hasn't tried to block any with his skull yet, if that's what ya mean," Toph supplied from the sidelines. Katara gave a soft snort of laughter at this, then walked up and gave Aang a kiss, ignoring Sokka's yelling about "getting the oogies".

"Toph, keep my brother out of trouble, please. Aang, could I borrow you for a while?"

"Sure, Katara. What is it?"

She did not reply immedietly, but instead started walking back towards the house. Aang followed, looking curious, but not saying anything more. Once she was sure they were out of earshot of Sokka and Toph, she cleared her throat.

"Honestly, I'm a bit worried."

"Don't be!" Aang replied. "Sokka's got a _really _strong head." He knocked at the top of his own head, as if to illustrate his point.

"What? No, not that," Katara said, frowning. "Haven't you noticed the tension?"

"Uh... No?"

"Sweetie, I'm talking about how Toph has a crush on Sokka, while he's still together with Suki, of course."

"Toph has a... Wait, what? Does Sokka know about this?"

"_Of course_ he doesn't, he's Sokka," Katara sighed, her voice patient. "How can _you_ not know? Honestly Aang, you may be the Avatar, but sometimes you're as clueless as my brother."

"I guess I just never thought about it," Aang admitted, giving a shrug. "You shouldn't worry too much about it, though. There's nothing you can do about it anyways."

"I know that, I just... I just know someone is going to get hurt, in the end."

Without a word, Aang put his arms around her. She let out her breath and, leaning her chin against his head, relaxed. They stood there for a while, rocking gently back and forth, before he gave her a kiss and took a step back.

"It'll be alright," he assured her. "All three of they are strong, kind people. If something happens, they'll work it out."

"Ever the optimist," Katara replied, her voice only slightly teasing. "You want to go back to Toph and Sokka to continue your game?"

"We were actually mostly done, so unless you have something else to do..."

"Nope, nothing. You want to do some forms down at the beach, relax a bit?"

"I like the way you think, sifu Katara," Aang replied, giving her an over-the-top bow. Katara just grinned and shook her head.

"You better."


	5. Day 8, Part 1: Zuko

**Day 8, Friday, Part 1  
**

**Zuko**

"Yes, Sokka, they _did_ buy enough meat yesterday," Zuko sighed, rolling his eyes. The Water Tribe boy had been pestering him about the barbeque preperations all day, asking questions and coming with suggestions.

"Oh good, because you know, I eat quite a bit of it and-"

"I know, Sokka. Don't worry about it."

"Alright. You need help carrying anything?"

"Yes, everything," Zuko told him, thrusting a bag of coal into his arms. "Drop that off near the firepit, then come back. We've got plenty more before we're set up."

"Aw man!" Sokka gasped, staggering backwards. "This must be like twenty kilos!"

"Fifteen, actually."

"But the firepit is _up a hill_!"

"Then get Aang or Toph to help you _earthbend _it up the hill, and _then_ come back."

"Fine, Toph then," Sokka sighed, hefting the bag of coal. "I haven't seen Aang all morning."

When Sokka had left, Zuko sighed and, rolling his eyes theatrically, leaned against the kitchen counter. Mai, who had just entered the room, gave him a soft smile.

"You should've become an actor," she commented.

"And miss out on all my exciting Fire Lord duties?" Zuko replied, giving her a kiss. "No way."

Mai just responded with a soft snort. "So, did you just want to get rid of Sokka for a while, or do we actually need to start moving everything up now?"

"Little bit of both," Zuko confessed. "I figured we'd start soon, so we don't have to rush to be done eating before the fireworks."

"Alright," she replied, taking one of the bags on the table. "I'll drop this off, try to find the others and tell them to come help."

"Thanks, see you soon."

* * *

Even with everyone helping out, it took them nearly half an hour to move the things they needed to the small hill near the house. Several boxes and bags of coal, food and drink, a table and some benches... After that, however, things moved quickly. Aang and Zuko ignited the fire with their firebending, Aang used airbending to make it burn quicker, and as soon as the fire calmed down and only glowing hot coals remained, they started making dinner.

"Sokka, please keep your meat on the left side of the grate," Aang complained, while the two of them were turning the food over.

"Yeah... I'm trying. Not sure what _left_ is on this large, _round_ thing, though."

"Just keep them on one half," Katara sighed. "It doesn't matter if you call it left or right."

"So, Zuko," Suki said, interrupting his eavesdropping. "How's the palace? Need any more guards?"

"I hope not," Zuko said, smiling. "I hope my rule is fair enough that no one will try to kill me anytime soon. Besides, Mai wouldn't allow it."

"Damn right I wouldn't," Mai replied, raising her glass in a mock salute. Suki and Zuko raised theirs in return.

"In all seriousness though, if you need any help..."

"I'll just send you a hawk," Zuko finished. "Got it. The same for you at Kyoshi, of course, as long as my Fire Lord duties don't get in the way."

"They get in the way often?"

"More often than I'd like," Zuko admitted. _Always the Duty over personal feelings_, he added to himself. _And sometimes what is Needed over what is Right_. _Uncle wasa correct, power _is_ a great burden._

"First stack o' steaks ready!" Sokka announced, setting a large platter of meat on the table. Since the table had a wooden surface he helped Toph take a couple of pieces, before sliding into his seat between Suki and Mai. Aang and Katara joined them at the table right after, putting down a few platters of potatoes, vegetables and bread. Zuko smiled when he saw Katara sneak a small piece of meat onto her platter, while keeping it mostly vegetarian, most likely for Aang's sake, even though he would never ask her to adopt his diet just because they were dating.

"So the fireworks start in a couple of hours?" she asked.

"Yeah, some time after sundown," Mai replied. "So there's no need to rush... Sokka."

"Mmf?" the Water Tribe boy replied, his mouth so full that even getting that small sound out was an impressive feat. Suki smiled and rolled her eyes, while Katara gave a slightly exasperated sigh at her brother's manners.

"It's _supposed_ to take longer to eat the food than it took to cook it," she told him, but he just stuck his tongue out at her.

"Let him be, Katara," Toph said, giving her friend a wide grin. "If his mouth's full, we won't have to hear his lame jokes."

"Hey! I work _very hard_ on my unique brand of humor."

"Unique... That's one way to describe it," Katara said with a smirk. Sokka gave her a glare, then shoved another piece of meat into his already-too-full mouth. Zuko leaned back in his chair, smiling happily, relaxing. This was just what he needed, some days without Fire Lordliness filling every hour, just hanging out with friends, joking around... Like the good old days.

"Hey, you ever heard my uncle's joke about the ostrich horse and platypus bear that walked into a bar?" he asked, surprising everyone. "Well, it goes something like..."


	6. Day 8, Part 2: Suki

**Day 8, Friday, Part 2  
**

**Suki**

The hill from which they would watch the fireworks was not far from the barbeque site, but the path to the top was steep and rocky. With a smile, she noticed how most of the group had no problems, while Zuko was panting heavily towards the end. _Too busy with his duties to exercise properly, I guess._

"Zuko, you doing alright?" she asked, giving him a nudge. He nodded and stopped for a moment, stretching out his arms and legs.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed. "Just been spending too much time sitting still lately."

"You should join me, Sokka and Ty Lee in warrior training someday."

"And have _Sokka_ outdo me?" Zuko said, smirking. "No thanks."

"Hey!"

"Oh quit whining Snoozles," Toph said, giving him a _whack_ in the arm. "I'd be embarrassed at being beat by you as well."

"What'd be so bad about that? I'm a good fighter!"

Suki smiled and tuned them out, having heard the same argument many times before. It was good to be surrounded by friends. Granted, all the Kyoshi warriors were also friends, but that was a different type of friendship. She was still their superior, which made it more difficult to truly connect with them on a more personal level.

* * *

It took another couple of minutes to reach the top of the hill, and it was nearly completely dark out when they did, but the view still stretched on for many kilometers. Katara gave an excited gasp and put her arm around Aang, while Zuko and Mai unfolded a couple of blankets on the ground.

"It's beautiful," Suki said, walking up to stand next to Sokka.

"Yeah."

"Still not sure why _I_ had to come," Toph sighed, raising an earth chair from the ground. "I can't see the view, and you _know_ how I feel about fireworks, Sokka."

"It's good for you to be social," Sokka said, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "You wouldn't want to sit down in the house all alone, would you?"

"I guess not. Fine."

"Besides, I've got something for you!" he continued, pulling something from one of his pockets. Suki raised an eyebrow, staring at the contraption.

"You got her a hair band with two cotton balls attached?"

"It's a sound proofer!" he replied, holding it up. "See, they're not _ball_-shaped, it's more like a small _bowl_-shape. Here, Toph, put it on!"

She accepted it, frowning. "I'll only put it on if Suki promises it doesn't look weird."

"It's not too bad. It actually looks a bit like that diadem you sometimes wear... The one with the decorative balls on the sides," Suki replied. Toph hesitated again, then put it on, slipping the cups over her ears.

"Actually, that's where I got the idea for it," Sokka explained. "Well, the design that is. Miners and factory workers have been using versions of it for years, though mostly mounted inside their helmets, which I figured would be a bit heavy."

"Well, it works really good," Toph answered, taking them off. "I didn't hear a single word of what you just said."

"That's, um... Yeah, my bad."

_It's so typical of him to think about these things_, Suki thought, smiling at her boyfriend. The long distance relationship was a pain at times, she had to admit, but Sokka was the kindest and most honorable man she knew... Despite her first impression.

"I think it's about to start!" Katara yelled from the edge of the hill, where she was lying on a blanket, her arm around Aang. "They lit some kind of fire down there."

"Ah, I'll just put these back on, then," Toph said, pushing the "sound proofer" back down over her ears. "You guys have fun, I'm gonna listen for ground vibrations."

"Before the fireworks starts, I want to say something," Zuko said, getting to his feet. Suki and Sokka both shifted their attention to the Fire Lord, who was smiling serenely. "Mai?"

"You tell them."

"Alright... After this summer, sometime this fall, you're all invited to the wedding of me and Mai," he said, grinning. Katara got to her feet so quickly she accidentally flipped Aang over, while Ty Lee squealed with happiness and Sokka let out a _whoop_ of excitement. They all crowded Zuko and Mai to convey their congratulations and good luck-wishes, except Toph, who gripped the armrests of her earthen chair and pulled the sound proofer off, tossing it aside.

"What's going on?" she yelled, rising into fighting stance, but she only heard laughter and the vibrations of people dancing and jumping around. "Hey! Can _someone_ tell me what's going on...?"


	7. Day 11: Aang

**Day 11, Monday  
**

**Aang**

"So, uh, how's dating the Fire Lord working out for you?" Aang asked, realizing right away how stupid he was sounding. _Why is she so difficult to talk to? Is it because I don't know her as well as the others? She's just like a female Zuko,_ he thought to himself. Mai shrugged, glancing at him.

"Dunno. Same as it'd feel dating the Avatar, I guess?" she replied, raising an eyebrow. He saw a tiny smile in the corner of her mouth.

"Uh, yeah," Aang said, raising a hand to his neck. "You'd have to ask Katara about that, I guess. By the way, where's the store?"

"A couple of kilometers away, in a small village," she replied, shrugging. "It doesn't have the best range, but most of the basic stuff should be available."

"Oh, okay."

They kept walking in silence, greeting the people they passed, including a girl who did a double-take upon seeing the familiar faces of the Avatar and his friend strolling down the street. They did the shopping, making sure to buy lots of vegetables and fruit especially, but also some meat and fish for Sokka. It was not until they were halfway home that Mai started up the conversation again.

"I've been meaning to ask you something for quite some time," she said, giving him a glance.

"Sure, what?"

"Not sure how to put it, to be honest, but... What's the deal with the whole Sokka-Suki-and-Toph situation? I tried asking Zuko, but he said you or Katara could answer better."

"Ah, uh, it's... Complicated."

"I know Sokka and Suki are together, and that Toph obviously likes Sokka, but... Does _he_ know that? Does Suki?"

"I think Suki knows," Aang replied, chewing his lower lip. He did not feel entirely comfortable with the discussion. "Sokka though... He's not the best at noticing things like that, and I'm pretty sure he'd ask me or Katara what we thought if he suspected it."

"Probably," Mai agreed. "When the time comes, do you think they'll be mature enough to handle it properly, or will they need help?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I do worry about it, but as I told Katara I think it's better for the rest of us to stay out of it until the time comes."

"I see," Mai said, nodding. "But what if an intervention is all that can save their relationship?"

* * *

It was later in the afternoon that Zuko found his Avatar friend in the small reading room connected to the house library. He slumped into an armchair next to him, offering a glass of lemonade.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Zuko replied, taking a sip from his own glass. "Mai told me what you two talked about... Is that why you're here? Meditating on what to do? Worrying?"

"I'm... Yeah."

Zuko sighed and leaned back. "For what's it worth, I think you're already doing the right thing. This is something they need to figure out themselves."

"Yes, but what if Mai's right? What if it ruins their friendship?"

"You know them better than to believe that," Zuko chided him. "Besides, would _you_ want to risk having to face Toph after interfering about something like that?"

Aang shuddered in his seat, shaking his head quickly. Zuko laughed and put his now empty glass down on the table between them.

"Aang, you need to worry less," he said, standing up. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just trust them, and you'll see. They'll make it work out, somehow, when the time is right."

"Yeah, thanks," Aang sighed in reply, but as Zuko left him to continue meditating, Mai's words replayed over and over in his head: _What if an intervention is all that can save their relationship?_


	8. Day 12, Part 1: Mai

**Day 12, Tuesday, Part 1  
**

**Mai**

When Katara entered the small kitchen at ten in the morning, Mai was already pouring herself a second cup of tea. She held up an empty cup, giving Katara a questioning glance and, when she recieved a nod in reply, poured tea into the cup and handed it over.

"Thanks," the waterbender sighed, taking a quick sip. "Oh, and good morning."

"Yeah..." Mai replied, frowning.

"Something wrong?"

"I haven't seen Zuko all morning. He's usually up early."

"Maybe he's out exercising or something?"

Mai glanced at her, then shrugged. "It's possible, I guess. Usually he'd invite me for that, though. Even if he was doing firebending training."

"Don't worry too much," Katara told her, leaning against the counter. "I'm sure he's just out running or something. Ask the guys if they've seen him, whenever _they_ wake up. They do share a bedroom, after all."

Mai smiled, nodding. "Yeah." They sat in silence, occasionally sipping their tea, waiting for one of the boys to enter. It was nearly half an hour later when Aang came into the kitchen, blinking tiredly. Katara handed him a cup of tea, and he gratefully took a long sip.

"Aang, have you seen Zuko this morning? Mai's wondering where he is."

"Uh, no... He was gone when we woke up," Aang replied, turning to Mai. "He didn't say anything yesterday? We figured he was hanging out with you, since he didn't return to the room before we fell asleep."

"He... He didn't return?" Mai stuttered, growing pale. _Has something really happened?_ "I didn't see him at all after dinner last night!"

"That's odd," Katara commented, frowning. "Maybe we should all go look for him? I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, but you know... Just to make sure."

"I'll get my glider and tell Sokka," Aang said, leaving the room in a rush. Mai stood, nodding.

"Let's try to find the others."

* * *

It was another half hour before they had everyone assembled outside the house, during which Katara had searched the inside of the house. They quickly decided to have Aang search the open areas west of the house, being able to fly above them on his glider. Toph went north, since there were apparently caves there. She had grumbled a bit at being the one sent the furthest away from the house, but quickly relented.

"Mai, you'll go with Ty Lee," Katara told them. "Sokka and Suki, you'll search the other direction. I'll head down to the beach, see if I can find him there."

They watched the waterbender and the two others leave, then started walking themselves. Ty Lee was quieter than usual, though Mai was hoping she'd _say something_ to break the tension. After a while, she spoke up herself instead.

"How's Kyoshi warrior training going?"

"Oh, it keeps me busy. We've taken on more people lately, so got a lot of new techniques for the group."

"That's good," Mai replied, nodding. "Learned anything about tracking?"

"Not really," Ty Lee admitted. "We had some lesson in it, but I never got the hang of it. Too impatient, they said. Too bad Azula's not here. She's a really good tracker."

"Yeah, but I don't think she'd be happy to see us."

Ty Lee nodded, looking uncharacteristically somber. When they were kids, they had always been the trio, after all. However, as Azula showed more and more ruthlessness and anger, they had grown apart quickly. Mai put a hand on her friend's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze and got a grateful smile in return.

"When did they say to meet up again?" Ty Lee asked, looking at the sun. "Around lunchtime, right?"

"Yes, when the sun is at it's highest," Mai confirmed, grabbing her friend by the arm and turning her around. "Don't look at it for too long, you'll hurt your eyes."

"Ah, right!"

"Come on, let's find Zuko so we can get back to the house."


	9. Day 12, Part 2: Sokka

****Day 12, Tuesday, Part** 2  
**

**Sokka**

"Come _on_ Suki, can't we just take a break? We've been looking for an hour, and I bet he's just off exercising somewhere. He'll be back before we are, probably."

"You're just being lazy," Suki countered, smirking.

"I'm not lazy! I just have this hunch that he is safe and sound back at the house, so we should get back there and make some food and wait for the others, or whatever."

"Sure," Suki replied, examining some tracks she had found. "You want to be the one telling Mai and Katara we just stopped looking for your hunch?"

"Uh, good point."

"We should be heading back to the house, though. We said to meet back there at noon, and we _are_ pretty far away." Sokka turned and looked at the sky, trying to get a more exact estimate of what time it was. Instead, he saw a dot quickly approaching.

"Hey, is that Appa?"

Suki looked up, squinting. "Yeah, I think so... Perhaps they found him, then."

However, when Aang landed next to them, they could tell he was troubled. They both climbed aboard, Aang staying silent until they were in the air and headed back towards the house.

"I found something in the fields, on the other side of the house," Aang told them. "Mai and Ty Lee are there now, but I couldn't find Katara or Toph."

"Wait, they're missing now _too_?" Sokka gasped, but Aang just shook his head.

"Toph is probably in one of the caves," he replied. "And Katara should be somewhere at the beach, I didn't look too closely since I was coming to get the two of you. I, uh, figured you'd be the best tracker here, Suki."

"Actually, Mai or Ty Lee are probably better," Suki admitted, shrugging. "What did you find?"

"Well, see for yourself. It's just below us."

Sokka and Suki scrambled to the edge of Appa's saddle, looking down. Near the middle of the field, the grass was marked by numerous burn scars. Paths crisscrossed through the long vegetation, as well as signs of fighting. They landed next to Mai and Ty Lee, who were examining the many tracks.

"You found anything?" Suki asked Ty Lee, sliding from Appa's saddle.

"Not really," Ty Lee admitted, biting her lower lip. "The tracks don't make much sense. Obviously, there was one firebender here... Along with several others."

"So Zuko fought a whole bunch of guys and lost?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. The others gave him an irritated look, but Mai did not seem to notice. Suki gave him a light slap on the back of his head, then walked up to a tangle of broken grass, watching it closely.

"Maybe not," she replied, frowning. "A lot of these paths run together, and more grass has been broken than should have, even by such a fight. It looks like someone did it on purpose, maybe to make us think there's more of them than there really is?"

"To slow us down," Sokka added. "By being more cautious than we have to."

"We should go find Katara and Toph," Aang said, taking his glider from Appa's saddle. "Sokka, I'm going to find Katara. You guys take Appa, find Toph and meet us back at the house."

"Right," Sokka replied, as Aang disappeared into the air. "But... wouldn't it be better if the only other earthbender was the one to look for Toph, since she's probably _deep underground_?"

"I don't think he can hear you, Sokka," Suki replied, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling, despite herself. Sokka rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Yeah, let's go. Maybe it'll turn out this is where Zuko's been training with Toph or Katara," he said, glancing at Mai, but Suki could tell he did not really believe it himself. Mai, however, just nodded, happy for the reassurance. In silence, the four of them climbed onto Appa's back and flew towards the north.


	10. Day 12, Part 3: Toph

********Day 12, Tuesday,**** Part** 3  
**

**Toph**

Toph had walked away from the house a bit before stopping to strech before searching. She had plenty of time before they were supposed to meet again and the caves were small, she knew, so it would be quick work to look through them all with her earthbending. Besides, she did not expect to find anything there. After all, what possible reason could Zuko have for going there?

She planted both feet firmly on the ground, letting them sink slightly into the cool earth. She was still near enough to the house that she could feel the footsteps of some of the others as they walked off in their different directions. Not Aang, of course, since he was flying. Mai and Ty Lee were nearly impossible to detect, their combat training giving them such light steps. She figured Suki would have been just as difficult, had she not been walking next to Sokka. Smiling, she listened to the vibrations of Sokka stomping away, the way he always did when doing something he did not really want to.

Katara was somewhere between these two extremes, walking softly but still easily detectable. What interested her, however, was _where_ Katara was going. She had started towards the beach alright, but then... She had turned around, slowed down. For some reason, the waterbender was heading back _toward_ the house.

Toph frowned. _What is she up to?_ Keeping her attention on where Katara was, she started to slowly move back towards the house, making sure to keep it between them, so she would not be spotted. All the others were already out of range, making it easier to track the other girl. She had reached the house when Katara disappeared into the far end. _The side door Sokka led me through two days ago to avoid having to go to the front side, _she thought, hurrying around the building. _There is a wooden stair just inside the door, leading to the second floor. I won't be able to see in there._

Feeling her way across the wood, she found the door handle. It had locked behind Katara, but it took her only a second to metalbend it open. Thankfully, it opened without a sound, allowing her to sneak in easily. However, as she remembered, the stair inside was all wood. For a moment she debated using earthbending to coat the stair in dirt, but decided not to. It would either take a lot of time or make a lot of noise, and she wanted to do neither of those. Instead, she felt around, getting her hands on the railing.

Using the rail to lead her, she advanced up the stairs at a fairly good speed. Silently thanking Sokka for pulling her through there the other day, she skipped across the second-to-last step as she felt the railing end, knowing that particular step gave a nasty creaking sound. At the platform on the top of the stairs, she paused, listening intently. The wooden floor blinded her, but her sense of hearing was still near perfect. The muffled sounds of talking were coming from what she assumed was another room. Feeling her way across the wall, she found the door and, pressing her ear against it, was able to listen to the conversation on the other side.

"-ai is a bit worried. I almost feel guilty." Katara's voice.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure she'll forgive us." Toph's eyebrows shot up, and she nearly yelped in surprise. Clamping her hands across her mouth, she continued to listen. Katara spoke again first.

"Aang should be the one to find the tracks we planted," she said, a note of warm humor in her voice. "I wonder what he'll do."

"Depends on how seriously he takes it," Zuko laughed. "Either he'll panic, or go get the others. He might try to figure them out himself, but I don't think so."

"No, probably not," Katara replied gleefully. "I can't wait to see their faces when they find out they've been had! It'll be great to finally have payback for all those pranks Aang, Sokka and Toph has played on us."

Toph felt herself tense, ready to move away from the door. She would find Sokka and the others before they returned, tell them what was going on, turn this back on Zuko and Katara, or... Or she could join forces with them. Slowly, a grin spread across her face. Those two were hopeless. They had already been found out, and there was no way they would keep the prank going without help. Having decided, she slammed the door open, entering the room with a huge grin.

"Hiya!" she exclaimed, wishing she could have seen their faces. There was a crash from the far end of the room, probably one of them dropping something or even falling off a chair. Katara gasped loudly, but quickly recovered.

"H-hey Toph, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, Katara. I felt you going back to the house, so I figured I'd investigate why," she replied, placing her hands on the doorjamb, making sure no one could try to sneak past her. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! I just, uh, forgot something. My necklace. I've got it now."

"Ah, okay," Toph said, grinning even wider. "How kind of Zuko to hold on to it for you!"

"Zuko?" Katara replied, her voice going up an octave. "What are you-"

"Katara. She obviously heard us."

Katara sighed. "Yeah, figures."

"Hey, don't beat yourselves up," Toph told them with a smirk. "You're dealing with a pro, after all." _As if I'd tell them it was mostly luck that I found them out_, she added to herself. "Besides, I don't want to expose you to the others... I want to _join_ you."

"Wait, you'd help us?"

"Please, without me you'll be found out easily. I'd be surprised if you even made it far past lunch," she said dismissively. "You _need me_."

There was a silence in the room, which she assumed was the two others silently communicating. A few moments later, Zuko cleared his throat.

"Fine, you're in. Tell us what to do," he sighed. Toph grinned.

"Alright, first... We need to get you out of here."


	11. Day 12, Part 4: Zuko

**Day 12, Tuesday, Part 4**

** Zuko**

The others arrived back at the house sooner than expected, with Zuko, Katara and Toph still inside. Aang was the first to arrive, touching down next to the main entrance, with Appa approaching from the north.

"We're trapped!" Zuko growled. This time he knew they would not be able to keep hiding in the house. They would surely start searching the house for clues, everyone pitching in, which would keep Katara from pretending to do it herself.

"You guys are _really_ bad at this," Toph commented.

"So what would _you_ do?" Zuko asked, his voice slightly sharp. While he knew that Toph was right, he did not like admitting it. _It's the truth though_.

The earthbender was quiet for a moment, then stretched out her arm. "Lead me to the basement level. Once I'm on solid ground, I'll be able to tunnel us out."

"Won't Aang hear that?" Katara asked, raising an eyebrow, but Toph shook her head.

"We'll just time it to when he's indoors," she replied.

"That might not be so easy," Katara commented. "Aang will enter from the front, where the floor is stone. To get him away from the ground, I'd would have to lure him upstairs."

"Oh, and there's only one set of stairs indoors," Zuko replied, understanding. If they hid downstairs, they would risk Aang detecing them with the earthbending techniques Toph had taught him so long ago. "We'll have to hide somewhere upstairs, wait for Aang to pass, _then_ sneak down and tunnel away _before_ Appa lands and the others enter."

"But how would I lure Aang upstairs?"

"Use your charm!" Toph exclaimed loudly, a wide grin on her face. Katara gave her a tired look.

"Yes, I'm sure Aang would agree to that while his friends are missing," she retorted. Zuko gave a nervous glance out the window, where Appa was approaching fast, with Aang waiting outside for them.

"Here," he said, quickly stepping over to the room's desk. "I'll write a note, making it seem like I was interrupted somewhere in the middle." He wrote a couple of lines of text, ending it mid-sentence with a splash of dark ink.

"Won't he notice the ink is still wet?" Katara objected, but Zuko shook his head. Carefully, he lifted the paper with one hand, producing a tiny flame in the other. With extreme care, he dried the ink without scorching the paper, before putting it back on the desk. Katara nodded and hurried downstairs, intent on reaching Aang as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Zuko took Toph by the arm and pulled her into the corridor. Looking around, he saw that the only door between the study and stair was a closet, so he dragged Toph with him into it, pulling the door closed behind them.

"It smells in here," Toph complained. "Like... Old man smell."

"Quiet!" Zuko hissed. "Aang and Katara will pass us at any moment!"

Indeed, they _did_ soon after hear someone coming up the stairs, accompanied by hushed talking. Zuko waited until he heard the door next to them slam shut, then took Toph by the arm again, leading her out of the closet. They silently moved down the stairs, into the short corridor below. Thankfully, the others had not yet arrived.

Being able to feel the ground again, Toph now lead the way. They rushed through the corridor to the entrance, then turned and jumped down the three steps that lead to the girl's rooms. Toph slammed open the door to the room she shared with Katara, entering with Zuko short behind.

"Hold on tight Sparky," she told him, stretching her arms. He put his arms around her neck, and she opened the floor beneath them. Zuko managed to keep from yelling out in terror as the ground shut above them and they started moving away from the house, but his heart did skip a step. _Calm down, she knows what she's doing_, he thought to himself.

They moved like that for at least a hundred meters, with Zuko wondering if Toph could hold her breath as long as he could. They would obviously have to surface for air at _some_ point, but how soon? If they did it too close to the house, they would be spotted. His answer came only seconds later, when Toph widened the space they were in and opened a thin pipe through the ground to the surface, to let air in.

"Katara let Aang down too early," she said hurriedly. "He knows we're here, so they'll come after us. Do we keep below ground like this to hide, or surface to move faster?"

"If we surface, they may see it's us."

"If we don't, they might catch us," Toph retorted. "Aang can move quickly above ground, so he'll reach us soon, and Appa flies."

"Surface," Zuko decided, immediately regretting the choice as they shot up from the ground, with him hanging on to the tiny earthbender like a cape or a ragdoll. They started moving forward at breakneck speed, but Aang had taken to the air now and was catching up fast.

"This isn't working!" Zuko yelled, trying to be heard above the tremendous roar of tons of earth moving, pushing them forward. Toph nodded, but he was not sure she had _really_ heard what he said.

"C'mon Sparky, hold on tight!" she shouted back, letting the earth wave shoot them both into the air. Zuko gave a loud yelp of surprise, sending Toph into a laughing fit. They hit a cliff wall at high speed less than a second later, sinking into it as if it was made of foam. Toph once again widened the space they were in, then used her bending to open a tunnel leading down and away.

"We're at the caves," she told him. "Follow that tunnel and you'll end up in one of them. Hide there while I distract Aang!"

"Alright."

Zuko started feeling his way down the path, unable to see in the darkness. Meanwhile, he felt Toph shaking the entire ground slowly to mask his presence. He heard the distinctive sounds of earthbending behind him as Aang landed, with Toph raising pillars of earth to knock the Avatar off the cliff. Mindful not to be distracted himself, he focused on finding his way out. He managed to get through the tunnel and into one of the caves, where sunlight shone from the entrance not far away, silohuetting the people that stood there.

"Uh, hey guys?" Zuko said, coughing uncomfortably.

"Ha! Busted!" Sokka yelled, pointing at him, grinning. Mai walked up to him and punched him in the arm, hard.

"Ow! That's going to leave a bruise, you know!"

"Good," Mai retorted, putting her arms around him and pulling him into a big hug. "Then maybe you'll think twice before pulling something like this again."

They exited the cave together and turned to look at Aang, who was trying to get close to Toph. It took them nearly five minutes of yelling to get her to stop and admit that they had lost. Looking grumpy, she joined the rest of them on the ground, with Aang landing next to her.

"I have to admit, it _was_ a pretty good prank," Sokka said, laughing. "But you're no match for detective Sokka!"

"You didn't find _anything_," Katara countered, giving him a weary look. "If Ty Lee hadn't gone to the girl's rooms to pick something up, you wouldn't have noticed the open door to our room and the hole in the floor in there."

"You didn't close the door?" Toph asked, her voice filled with irritation.

"I thought you would, if that was part of the plan!" Zuko replied defensively.

"_I can't see the door!_" Toph yelled, waving her arms. "It's made of wood! How would I even know if it was open or not?"

"Uh, you have a point there."

"Anyways," Suki interrupted. "We managed to put two and two together. The remnants of a fight you left on the field made no sense, there was a hole in the floor of a basement room and Aang felt something the size of two people moving quickly away underground."

"You actually felt we were two people?" Toph asked, her eyes widening. "Didn't think you had that level of control in you, Twinkletoes. I must be a better teacher than I thought!"

"I'm mostly surprised that Zuko and Katara almost managed to pull off such a prank," Sokka interjected, shaking his head. "They _did_ have Toph's help, of course."

"She only helped us at the end," Katara replied, giving her brother a prod. "She wasn't in on it from the start."

"If I was, you'd have made it past lunchtime," Toph retorted.

"Speaking of lunch... Can we _please_ get some?"

"I'm a bit hungry myself," Zuko said. "Let's find a restaurant. My treat."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Sokka exclaimed, grabbing Suki and Toph by the hands and starting to pull them along. "Come on guys, let's go!"

As they started moving towards the nearby village to find a place to eat, Zuko and Katara hung back a little, walking behind the others.

"He really is hopeless at times, isn't he?" Zuko said, watching as Sokka tried to speed the group up.

"He is," Katara agreed, smiling. "But he's my brother, so what can you do?"

"True," Zuko replied silently, thinking about his sister, Azula. _What_ can_ you do?_

"You can trust them to do the right thing," Aang said, appearing next to them. "Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't."

They both turned to look at the Avatar, Katara smiling as she took Aang's hand in hers. _I wish I could be as positive as you, Aang,_ Zuko thought to himself. _Maybe one day..._


	12. Day 13: Sokka

**Day 13, Wednesday, Just after midnight**

**Sokka**

"Maaan, it's too hot to sleep."

"Tell me about it," the gruff voice of Zuko came from the opposite end of the room.

"Ow, sorry, did I wake you?" Sokka asked, turning over to squint towards his friend. He could barely see in the dark, but what he did see made it clear Zuko had already been sitting before he spoke.

"Mh, I thought I was the only one awake," Aang mumbled. "If I'd known you were awake, I'd have used airbending to cool the room. Didn't want the draft to wake you."

"You can do that?" Sokka asked, sitting up straight. "Do it! _Now!_"

"Alright, alright," Aang yawned, getting to his feet. He stumbled over to the window, feeling his way through the room so he would not trip and fall. Taking a deep breath, he raised his arms, then brought them forward, bringing in a strong breeze of cool air. The three boys all sighed happily in unison.

"Tha-ank you, Avatar Aang," Sokka said, flopping back down on his bed. "Let's wait a bit, do that again, and _then_ try to sleep."

"I agree," Zuko said from somewhere at the other side of the room.

"Oh right, did I tell you your prank _was_ pretty good, Zuko?" Sokka asked suddenly. "I'll have to get you back for it, someday."

"It was mostly your sister doing the planning, actually. And Toph helped a lot."

"She didn't like losing, though," Aang laughed, rubbing his arm where a boulder had left a small cut during his short bending battle with Toph.

"Yeah, Suki's the same when we do warrior training," Sokka said, giving an amused snort.

"By the way," Zuko interjected, "I've been meaning to ask... What do you and Suki do when you're _not_ training?"

Sokka fell silent for a while, contemplating. "Well, uh, I guess... Hang out. Talk about stuff, sometimes go for walks. We usually have fun on the beach, when it's hot enough. Why?"

"Oh, nothing really. It just struck me that you don't seem to have a lot in common."

"We complete each other's personalities pretty well," Sokka said, a bit defensively.

"You mean she's a bit serious, while you tend to be more... silly."

"Yes!"

"Me and Katara do a lot together," Aang said, not really noticing the tone of the conversation. "Penguin sledding, playing games, waterbending..."

"I've got plenty in common with Suki," Sokka said, sounding slightly grumpy. "It's the distance that can be a bit... difficult. She still lives on Kyoshi Island, while I spend most of my time in other parts of the Earth Kingdom, or by one of the Water Tribes. Ships just aren't as fast as Appa was, back when we used him for travel all the time."

"Guess I'm lucky," Zuko sighed. "With me and Mai both living in the Fire Nation, we can see each other all the time. Especially now that we're going to be living together."

"Yeah, and Aang has my sister with him whereever he goes."

"I do."

"I'm fine guys," Sokka said, his voice indicating that he did not wish for the conversation to go on any longer. "Really. Aang, give us another blast of fresh air and we'll try sleeping again?"

"Okay Sokka," Aang said, getting to his feet and walking over to the window again. "You know you can talk to us if there's anything."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."


	13. Day 15: Zuko

**Day 15, Friday**

**Zuko**

"So I've been thinking," Sokka said, breaking the silence. Him and Zuko were the ones who had shopping duty for the day, and they were almost halfway there already.

"Oh?"

"Regarding what we talked about. The other day."

"About distance?"

"That, yes... And about things in common." Zuko kept quiet, letting his friend take the time to formulate his next thought. "I mean, do you really need _that_ much in common to have a good relationship?"

Zuko thought about the question for a while before replying, then shook his head. "I think... as long as you're happy and can have fun together, it doesn't really matter. Right?"

"Right. It's just that Suki's the first girl to actually have shown interest in me. Way, way back at the start of our adventure. During the war. It feels like we've been drifting apart, now that we live so far from each other and aren't working together to bring down... Well, your dad."

"Sokka, it's normal to have doubts. Me and Mai have had several fights because of it, and even broken up a couple of times. If you're meant to be together, you overcome those doubts and be stronger for it. If not... Well, at least you know."

Silence fell over them again, interrupted only by the crunching of their feet on the gravel path they were following. _Is this something he started thinking about only after we spoke of it? _Zuko thought to himself. _Or does it go back much further than that?_

He mentally shook his head. These were not two day old musings, unless Sokka was a much, much quicker and more focused thinker than Zuko had ever realised. He must have had some doubts even before their conversation, which meant that Zuko's comments might have seemed like a confirmation of those problems existing.

"Have you talked to Suki about this?"

"I wouldn't even know how to start," Sokka sighed, looking miserable.

"Just... Tell her what you're worried about, I guess? Easier said than done, I know, but..."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Better than to ignore it."

"Right."

Sokka was quiet only for a few seconds this time, before clearing his throat. "Do you think Aang and Katara ever have these problems? I mean, Aang has never said anything about it, and I'm not about to start asking my _sister_ about her love life..."

"Those kinds of problems?" Zuko replied, tilting his head back, contemplating. "No, don't think so. Other problems, sure. Katara's older, more mature... Even though she usually laughs at Aang's antics, there's bound to be some conflict now and then."

"Yeah, but-"

"Sokka!" Zuko interrupted, stopping. "There are no easy answers, you know that. You can't figure this out by _thinking_ about it, like you do with your inventions and such. At some point, you're gonna _have _to talk to Suki about it. Sooner, rather than later."

Sokka stared at the ground, flexing his fingers. He knew, of course, that Zuko was right. Him and Suki were happy together, and the time they spent never felt wasted. However, he was not sure that the future they envisioned was the same. Would it be better to talk about it? Even if the result was that they realised that they had no future together?

"You know, sometimes I _really_ hate admitting you're right," he sighed.

"Sorry," Zuko replied, giving him a sympathetic smile, "wish I could be more help."

"Just... Don't mention this to anyone. I've got enough to think about _without_ Aang or Katara trying to 'help'. And Toph'd probably punch me for being indecisive."

"Alright, deal."


End file.
